The Romanov Empire
The Empire as it is known today did not truly begin to form until after the Kursk Incident, however. With the situation in Russia rapidly deteriorating thanks to Green Initiative meddling, Hanse Behörde was forced to look for a radical and fast way to stabilize order in the region. Support for a Monarchy was somewhat facetiously present before the war, but mainly Hanse was able to draw upon the surviving elements of the Eastern Orthodox Church and its followers for its purposes, which felt threatened by the anti-religious Communists. By working with these figureheads, Hanse was able to establish a legitimate government that would also have popular support, consolidating power around a collective of influential businessmen that had already positioned themselves in support of a supposed distant descendant of the tsardom, Alexander Romanov. The Empire's power quickly swelled thanks to a perfect combination of the relatively unscathed infrastructure in St Petersberg and thousands of refugees fleeing the civil war and looking for work. St. Petersberg contained a large number of offices for foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and businesses before the Fall. It was considered the cultural capital of Russia and was one of its most modern cities. More than all this, it was the former capital of the Russian Empire before its fall to the communists, which made it a natural capital for the new Romanov Empire. The Monarchists consolidated their power in St. Petersberg, wrestling control of the city from the Federal soldiers and purging communist sympathizers in a several week-long ‘scouring’, and proceeded to grow in power as the Russian Federation was bled dry by its war with the communists. By the beginning of 2020, the Federation was on its last legs while the Empire was in ascendancy. Unlike the European Federation, the Romanov Empire has maintained good relations with ACC through Hanse Behörde, of which any agent can find safe refuge within the Empire's borders. The Empire has its own small corps of pilots known as the Black Order, sometimes referred to instead as the Black Hand, which is made up of some former Hanse members and independent individuals with Hanse training. The Black Order is nominally under control of the Emperor, but is a Church-sponsored group in actuality, and obeys the orders of the Ecumenical Patriarch. The Empire regards the EuF as its contemporary adversary, if not now then sometime in the near future, and uses its continuation of the Federation's war with the communists as a means to keep its troops trained should conflict arise between the two powers. Most of their military power comes from equipment seized from Federal forces, and the industrial density and high technological level of plants in St. Petersburg has given them a healthy mixture of naval, aircraft, vehicle and arms manufacturing plants. However, they lack the resources and knowledge to make adequate use of these boons. This has limited the growth of the Empire, but has enabled them to keep their foes in the Communists and Federalists at bay until they improve their infrastructure. Category:PACYOA: TE Category:TE Nations Category:Western Russia